Two more to go

At supper this evening, my friend Stephen and I were just discussing how unbelievable it is to be able to say that this year is pretty much over, save for exams of course. Only two weeks of classes are left, and then the dreaded exams start hovering overhead, forcing me to spend much more time in the library than I'd like to. I think it's going to be especially hard for me to force myself to study for this set of finals, what with the weather getting nicer and nicer, and the wonderful sunlight lingering longer and longer every evening. Also, I just can't wait to get a move on with my plans for the summer! I've been selected to work as a Parliamentary Guide at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario this summer, and I couldn't be more excited :) Two other Mount A students were selected as well, Liz and Jenna, which is great because I'll at least know two other people before I even get there. I'll be living in an apartment in downtown Ottawa with a 1st year Law student, Martha, and the apartment is so nice, I can hardly believe my good luck! On the other hand, it's going to be tough to not be home for the summer, and it's going to be even harder to say goodbye to everyone here, even if it's only for four and a half months. Fraser will be studying French in Chicoutimi, Quebec for 5 weeks, then working at a children's camp in Naramata, British Columbia for the rest of the summer. Yes, I'll miss him like crazy, but we're both going to be having such great experiences, so how could we ask for anything different? I'm sure four and a half months will pass more quickly than we think...

I've been doing some thinking about my blog lately, and I realized that I don't always bring in the academic side of Mount A too often. I guess I take it for granted that everyone knows that there is a lot of education going on in the classrooms, so I focus on the learning that goes on outside of the classroom. But I suppose that's not really fair, now is it? So let me tell you a little about an academic related event that happened this week. Kirsten, MTA's VP Academic, put on an Academic Awareness Week, including a number of different sessions dealing with issues such as procrastination, preparing for fourth year and graduation, the international exchange experience and choosing courses, majors and minors. I attended the Academic Fair that took place on the balcony of meal hall, and it was a really good experience. There were representatives from each department, desserts, music, the works. Any questions you could possibly have had about your degree or course selections could easily have been answered there. I also went to the International Exchange Experience session, which was very informative, and set out all the options for international exchange. Did you know that there are something like 14 different exchanges available for MTA students? And on top of that, many students prepare and complete independent exchanges to many more countries? There are so many opportunities!

Now for the dance recital! Put on by the Dance Society, the end of the year recital, titled Last Chance to Dance featured jazz, hip hop, lyrical, ballet, swing, salsa and international dances. It was a huge success! We had three shows (one on Friday night and two on Saturday afternoon) and all three were oversold-out, haha. They had to add extra chairs to each performance, and that made for a stellar crowd each time. These are a couple pictures of some swing and salsa dancers, as well as members of the Dance Society. The one above is of Denise, Meaghan, Aldous and I, with a large tuft of Scott's hair, haha.

A picture of me and Aldous with the 4 current instructors, Casey, Lindsay, Mandy and Jerrod, who are all graduating this year, and have passed the Swing Society down to Aldous and I!

A very fun picture of the six of us :)

Some of the Swing dancers also performed both officially and unofficially at two other great events that happened this weekend. Jazz at Jennings is put on by the MTA Jazz Ensemble, and features, obviously, the MTA Jazz Band, as well as some of MTA's finest vocal artists. We Swing dancers, and some wannabes, haha, danced the night away to some awesome music! On Saturday night, the Swing Society also performed at the Society of All Nations banquet, where there was great food, music, dance and other entertainment, put on by many of MTA's international and non-international students. A great weekend all around!

Well that about sums up my life as of late, I hope it gives you a little bit of an inside glance into what life's like here at MTA and all the opportunities that are available for you. As always, please feel free to e-mail me with questions, comments or just to say 'hi' :)

Much love,

Sue

sjhumphrey@mta.ca